Buildings are constructed to provide protection from weather elements such as wind, snow and rain. Smaller structures such as residential houses have inclined or angled rooftops so as to deflect the rain or melting snow. In other words, the rain or melting snow is easily directed by the inclined roof surface to gutters which collect the water and divert it away from the house. As a result, water damage to the house only occurs if the roof structure itself is damaged by wind or prolonged wear.
Larger structures such as school buildings, warehouses, factories and the like utilize flat roofs as they are easier to construct and much cheaper to build than structures which have inclined roofs. One significant drawback of a flat roof structure is that standing water accumulates on the surface. Due to expansion and contraction of the roof structure, based on temperature changes, openings and cracks develop in the structure. These changes sometimes take years to develop, but inevitably they do and lead to damage of the structure. This is especially true where standing water collects in areas of the cracking as the water seeps into the underlying structure causing rot, mildew, and other damage to the interior of the structure.
Solutions to the problem of standing water on flat-roof structures include manually squeegeeing water from the standing pool to the edge of the building or to a drain. Although this is somewhat effective, personnel walking on the roof structure can damage it thereby increasing the likelihood of cracks and further water damage. Electrically actuated pumps can be positioned onto the roof but this requires running electrical power to the devices, which may be dangerous as these devices are frequently left unattended. Battery powered pumps can also be used, but they require charging and maintenance.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a self-actuated drainage device for flat roof structures. Indeed, there is a need for a device to collect rain water and start a valve/siphon mechanism to initiate a siphon operation to pull water away from the areas of standing water and where the mechanism continues to operate until the area of standing of water is significantly reduced or eliminated. There is also a need for such a device that needs only minimal oversight and maintenance.